CPA PEP

Academic Integrity and Misconduct

The CPA profession takes academic integrity and misconduct seriously. Academic misconduct includes plagiarism, the enabling of plagiarism, theft of another or former student or candidate’s work, or unethical behaviour such as lying or cheating.

When commencing the CPA PEP, each candidate agrees to a training contract, which includes declarations concerning plagiarism. Further information regarding academic honesty can be found in the CPA PEP Candidate Guide in D2L and in the CPA Harmonized Education Policies.

Refinements to this policy are currently under development. Any changes will be posted to this website and will be reflected in the Candidate Guide as well as in the Harmonized Education Policies. In the meantime, the current policy, as outlined below, remains in effect.

If it is determined that academic dishonesty has occurred, the following steps will be taken:

The candidate will be provided with a preliminary statement of the facts being considered, invited to contact the Director to discuss the allegations, and requested to provide, within seven days, to the Director a written statement with respect to the allegations. This communication is to be sent by email.

The Director shall review the preliminary statement of facts and any oral or written submission by the candidate and conclude as to whether dishonesty in the program has occurred. If it is determined that dishonesty has not occurred or is inconclusive, no record of the incident will be retained in the candidate’s file. If the Director concludes that the candidate is guilty of an act of dishonesty and that further action is warranted, the Director shall:

In writing, inform the candidate that there has been a violation of the rules against dishonesty in the CPA program and provide a statement of the facts upon which the decision has been based, the rationale for the decision, and the penalty to be assigned to the candidate.

Arrange contact with the candidate, during which a severe admonishment will be delivered. The candidate will be informed that a second offense will result in immediate transfer of the case to the appropriate provincial body professional conduct committee.

Where the candidate has been found guilty of an act of dishonesty in the CPA program and further action is warranted, the penalty imposed shall be appropriate to the circumstances:

A candidate whose submission on an assignment is determined to be substantially similar to that of another candidate in the same offering or in a previous offering of the module, or substantially similar to another unacknowledged source shall:

If the Common Final Examination (CFE) has not yet been attempted, be assigned a “Fail” result in the module in which the offense occurred, and be suspended from active participation in the CPA program for a period of six months, beginning from the date of assigning the penalty.

If the CFE has already been attempted, have six months added to the required term of practical experience.

A candidate who has provided to another candidate material that has or could have been inappropriately used in that other candidate’s submission in a subsequent module offering shall:

If the Common Final Examination (CFE) has not yet been attempted, be suspended from active participation in the CPA program for a period of six months, beginning from the date of assigning the penalty. In the event that the student is enrolled in a module on that date, the student will be assigned a “Fail” result in that module.

If the CFE has already been attempted, have six months added to the required term of practical experience.

For other acts of dishonesty in the CPA program, these same penalties, as set out in paragraphs i) and ii) above, will be applied at the discretion of the Director.

A candidate will be assessed a fine of $500 for each finding of guilt.

A complaint will be filed to the applicable provincial body discipline process against any candidate who has previously been found guilty of dishonesty in the CPA program.

The Director may recommend to the CPAWSB CEO that a complaint be filed to the applicable provincial body discipline process against a candidate:

who demonstrates unprofessional conduct in responding to the investigation

whose offense suggests that such a complaint is warranted (e.g., theft of another candidate’s submissions or unauthorized material/behaviour in the examination writing centre)

Notices summarizing the facts of such incidents and the penalties applied will be placed on the D2L discussion board and/or the CPAWSB website, informing all candidates of the discovery and handling of the cases of dishonesty in the program. These notices will not include the name(s) of the candidate(s) involved.

The candidate has the right to appeal the decision of the Director to the CPAWSB Appeals Committee. The candidate also has the right to appeal the decision of the Appeals Committee to the CPAWSB board of directors. The process applicable to appeals.